Stephen Wilkins Thompson

Aviator. He was a decorated American combat pilot of World War I. Thompson's greatest recognition is that of being the first pilot in the U.S. military history to shoot down an enemy aircraft. Thompson was a native of West Plains, Missouri and a senior electrical engineering student at the University of Missouri when the United States entered World War I. After hearing the announcement that his high school would present diplomas to seniors, who had joined the military before graduation, he enlisted in the Army that month. Following basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, he was sent to Fort Monroe, Virginia for training in the Coast Artillery Corps. On the train coming in to Norfolk he saw an airborne aircraft for the first time ever. When the opportunity presented itself, Thompson went to a nearby flying field, the Curtis School at Newport News, and asked if he could take a ride. Thomas Scott Baldwin, who had been a famous performer in his own balloons and dirigibles, was in charge and agreed to his request. Thompson flew in a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" that was flown by Eddie Stinson, a prominent flyer at the time and who later founded the Stinson Aircraft Company. Stinson did a number of aerobatic maneuvers, including "looping the loop" five times in a row. Thompson said that the only thing that kept him from falling out of the plane at the top of the last loop was his lap belt. By the time he landed, he had decided to apply for duty in the Air Service. He arrived in France in September and was assigned to the United States 1st Aero Squadron for training as an observer. The commander was Major Ralph Royce, who was destined to become a general in the Army Air Corps during the World War II. The training took place from a field in Amanty. The French bombardment squadron BR123, which flew the Breguet 14B, was nearby at Neufchâteau, and Royce was occasionally able to send one of his men along with the French on bombing raids. On February 5, 1918 Thompson flew as a gunner-bombardier with the French on a raid over Saarbrücken, Germany. After the bombing run had been completed, the squadron was attacked by Albatros D.III fighters, and Thompson shot one of them down. This was the first aerial victory by a member of the U.S. military. He was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for the action. In May, he was assigned to the new 12th Aero Squadron, and on July 28th he was in another memorable battle. While doing artillery spotting during a battle near Chateau Thierry, his aircraft was attacked by four Fokker D.VIIs from what had been Richthofen's Flying Circus but was then under the command of Hermann Göering. Thompson shot down the first two planes that attacked him, but a bullet from the third hit his machine gun and disabled it. He was then hit in the leg, and his pilot was hit in the stomach by an exploding bullet. The pilot managed to crash land the plane before he died of his wounds. Thompson dug the bullet out of his leg with a pocket knife. The pilot who shot them down was the famous German ace Erich Löwenhardt, who at the time was second only to Richthofen in victories. The uniform that Thompson was wearing when he shot down the Albatros D.III, the bullet he dug from his leg and an autographed picture of Thompson are on display at the United States Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After the war, Thompson worked for several years as an engineer at McCook Field, the predecessor of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He then became a high school mathematics teacher. During World War II, he served as an aviation instructor and and meteorologist. In 1940, he received U.S. Patent No. 2,210,642 for a tail-less flying wing that he invented.